Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Rob Ryan, Icon Film Distribution.
Cast: Sister Kate.
As you watch this calmly interesting documentary a fleeting thought runs through your mind: it is an out-of-the-ordinary story. In fact, it’s the extraordinary chronicle of Christine Meeusen, who is also known as Sister Kate.
She was the founder of the marijuana-growing religious order, Sisters of the Valley. The transformation of the life of a successful businesswoman after the end of her
17-year marriage is astonishing.
Breaking Habits outlines the story of Christine Meeusen, married to a seemingly reliable man who was happy to be the stay-at-home dad. She was a hard working, bread-winning mother-of-three, who was betrayed by her stealing, polygamist husband. The once high-flying corporate executive is left penniless, but she doesn’t give up on hope.
Then, she meets her calling, determined to make a living for her family. On her own, broke and unemployed, Christine turned to California’s newly relaxed medicinal marijuana laws to build herself a new life. She discovers the lucrative business of cannabis farming and becomes founder of the medicinal-marijuana empire.
Shedding her former life, Sister Kate is on a mission to provide her products to those in need. She fights off local police and protects her crop from deadly black market thieves, local police, faith leaders, vicious criminals and unfriendly laws. She persists, even though her past threatens disruption. Kate teams up with her brother and employs her own children to keep their crop secure as they expand into other cannabis-derived products.
Along with her female workforce, her cannabis-based business grew. The self-proclaimed nun leads a group of activists who seek to legitimise their marijuana farm in Merced County, California. The imagery is good, though there may be some unanswered questions about the reportedly profitable operation in California’s second-poorest county.
Determined to sell her product only for medical use, this is a story of revolt, expectation and renewal. A ‘higher calling,’ of note.
To win one of two free DVDs of Breaking Habits, just tell us the name of the founder of marijuana-growing religious order Sisters of the Valley. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 29 July 2019. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 30 July 2019.
